In Recognition of Outstanding Service to Yale
February 2003
by Grace Profatilov Grace Profatilov is Assistant Director for Communications at the AYA. The Yale Medal is the highest award presented by the Association of Yale Alumni to honor outstanding individual service to the University. This year’s recipients reflect the range of service and leadership the AYA strives to recognize with this award. We honor their remarkable contributions and recognize that they honor Yale and all of us in the alumni community by the ways in which they have chosen to give back to our community of scholars and friends. Grant D. Esterling '51, ‘54LLB Grant Esterling has served as co-chair of 1951’s record breaking 50th Reunion gift, as a class agent for the Yale Alumni Fund since graduation, and as a member of its board for almost 30 years, culminating in a term as Chair of the Alumni Fund. A galvanizing force for the Class of 1951, Mr. Esterling served as both Class secretary and treasurer. He has worked tirelessly to foster an enduring connection between his classmates and Yale, organizing mini-reunions, establishing 1951’s Memorial Scholarship and the 1951 “America Reads” program. He is a director of the Yale Club of Washington, D.C., and a former president of the Yale Club of Paris. Joseph Carrere Fox '38 Joseph Carrere Fox founded the Fox International Fellowship in 1988. Administered by Yale, this graduate student exchange program with several of the world’s leading universities has been very successful and continues to expand. Mr. Fox speaks three foreign languages, including Russian, and is also a Sterling Fellow and a charter member of the President’s Council on International Activities. Partly in recognition of his work with Yale on the Fox Fellowship, Cambridge University named him a Fellow Commoner of Sidney Sussex College, the first American to be so honored in the award’s centuries-old history. Rafael Porrata-Doria '77JD Rafael Porrata-Doria’s long service to Yale began with his membership on the board of the Yale Club of Philadelphia. Then, with his appointment by the Club as an AYA delegate, Mr. Porrata-Doria embarked on a 14-year career of service as a delegate, elected member of the AYA Board of Governors, Board officer, and Board chair. As AYA Chair, he helped reexamine alumni programs, overhaul systems, and ensure that the AYA remained at the forefront of alumni associations. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Yale Law School Alumni Association and the Yale Alumni Publications Board. Donald F. Scharf '55 Donald Scharf’s lifetime commitment and generosity of time and energy to Yale and Yale athletics is unprecedented. Not only does he serve on myriad athletic boards, including the Football Association, Men’s Hockey Association, Men’s Lacrosse Association, and Men’s Basketball Association, he also devotes much time and effort to community outreach and in strengthening Yale’s ties with New Haven. Chairman of the Yale Youth Day Committee, he is also an important force behind the National Youth Sports Program. In addition to his volunteer work with athletics, he is a Berkeley College Fellow and has been awarded the Elm and Ivy Award. John B. Stevens '37 John Stevens’s lifelong commitment to Yale and to his Class spans over 60 years and ranks him among the most devoted of alumni volunteers. He has been an agent for the Alumni Fund, chairman of the agents for the Class of 1937, an Alumni Fund board member, Class secretary, and a member of the Class Executive Committee. Through his efforts, the Class of 1937’s cumulative giving to the Yale Alumni Fund has exceeded all other classes. His endowment of the John B. Stevens Scholarship Fund demonstrates his longstanding devotion and generosity to Yale. Selection of Medalists The AYA seeks nominations for the Yale Medal to honor those who have rendered exemplary volunteer service to Yale. We invite all alumni to bring to our attention, at the address below, those who have outstanding records as Yale volunteers. From these nominations, the AYA Board of Governors chooses Medalists on the recommendation of a committee chaired by a member of the Board. The Yale Medal Dinner On Friday, April 25, the 2003 Yale Medalists will be honored at a dinner during Assembly LXII. The Yale Medal Dinner is a festive opportunity to honor both present and past recipients of Yale’s highest award for service. To purchase tickets for the event, call Ann Griffith at Rose Alumni House. |
